Pirates and a party
Visiting the Real Pirates exhibit at the Science Museum
Celebrating (outside) with a volcano cake, family & friends
Tag: uncles
Chicks, swans & Grandma Patti’s birthday
We went to Grandma Patti & Grandpa Dave’s house tonight to celebrate Grandma’s birthday (a day early.) I took the kids down after Ingrid got up from her nap, so we arrived a little before dinner time. We took advantage of the great weather and went for a walk. Neighbors up the road just received 60 new baby chicks, so we brought the kids over to see the fluffy peepers. From there, we walked up the hill to another neighbor’s pond to see the swans. The male was not pleased with the proximity at which we were looking at him and his mate. The way he flared his feathers made for a visually interesting show.
After we had dinner and birthday grasshopper pie (Grandma Patti’s favorite) we went back outside for some fun in the driveway & yard. The three amigos all had to have their turn trying to climb the basketball pole. They all needed a little boost from Uncle Jason & Daddy.
Halloween 2011
Yesterday I loaded up the crew and brought them to Jake’s parents’ house so they could trick-or-treat at Grandma & Grandpa’s. Today, we headed out to the office to greet Papa & Uncle Tony and then went to the house to see Nana. The kids have had so much fun wearing their costumes this year…Buzz Lightyear, Red Dog, and Little Bee.
Thinking of Uncle Mark
Driving to my parents’ house this morning we were waiting at a stop light and Nolan said, “Mom, there’s an Uncle Mark sticker on the back of that truck.” Sure enough, I look in front of us and there’s a Harley Davidson Motorcycles sticker on the window of the pickup in front of us. 🙂
Watch what you say
My mom took the boys for the day so I could get a few things done around the house – like putting my furniture back in order after our new front window was installed last Friday. While they were there, they captured a mouse (or shrew) that had somehow gotten into the house. Nolan saw it first. It wasn’t until the little thing scurried out from the corner and down the steps, that my mom caught a glimpse of it too. The rodent managed to find its way to the “fort” room under the stairs and was essentially trapped. The boys danced around in the doorway and sang “No, mouse, no!” to keep it from getting out of the room until my mom came back with a butterfly net to catch it. They released the frightened animal in the backyard and had quite a story to tell Papa (my dad) and Uncle Tony when they had dinner together that night.
While Nolan was re-telling their adventures from the day, he got to the part about the mouse/shrew going downstairs and how apparently “There’s just all this crap along the wall” down there. At that point, my brother just about lost it. Not only did Nolan use the 4-letter word correctly in context, but he said it so nonchalantly that my mom had to ask my brother if he said what she thought he had said.
Unfortunately, I’m to blame for letting that one slip around the kids. A few too many toys pushed me to the brink a while back and I uttered a phrase similar to the one Nolan used. Guess he filed it away for a time such as tonight. At least he was with family 🙂
Future employees
After dropping off some of our windows at Settergren Hardware (to be re-glazed,) Nolan asked me: “Mommy, when I get older, can I work for Uncle Mark at the hardware store?” Lincoln chimed in, “I want to work for Uncle Mark, too!”
Cousins
Jake and I got up this morning and went to mass with Ingrid, letting the rest of the house sleep in. My dad was there as well. Afterward, my dad offered to take us to breakfast on main street. Jake told me to go and he would head back to the house to check on the boys. When we walked into the restaurant we found my brother and cousin Jared sitting at a table. We sat down and shortly after, Josh and his girlfriend, Jordan, joined us. My mom eventually joined us as well. Good food and good conversation.
After breakfast Jared took Tony & me to see Josh’s new house and dogs. Then we went back to Jared & Kyla’s to pack up, have lunch, and try to get a few pics of the cousins. Emphasis on try. (You may notice that Lincoln is missing from the little cousins photo – he wasn’t in the photo taking mood.)
I don’t know which group was more challenging to capture, the younger cousins or the older!
Finally, as we left town this afternoon we stopped to say one final goodbye to Uncle Joe. As we were pulling into the cemetery, Lincoln said to me, “Mommy, that sleepover was a blast!” It was really good to be with family.
Goodbye Joe
Saturday morning we got ready for the funeral and again, had the boys stay home with a babysitter. The funeral was a beautiful good-bye to Uncle Joe. My brother, cousin Kerri and I were asked to read the readings during the mass and we were also pall bearers along with Jake, Jared & Kyla, and Josh & Jordan.
After we returned from the cemetery, the church ladies provided us with a wonderful luncheon. We were able to visit with many of our extended relatives, many of whom we had not seen for several years. “Why is it that we only get together at weddings and funerals?” was a question that was asked many times over.
Jake and Jared brought the boys to the church after we were finished eating so we could introduce them to family members who had only seen them in pictures. At that point we also selected a few items of Joe’s to remember him by.
After a long & emotional morning/afternoon, we returned to Jared & Kyla’s for the evening. We had dinner and sat around the table reminiscing and looking at photos.
Uncle Joe ended up having the last laugh tonight. My cousin, Josh, had brought home a humidifier box (after the encouragement of my mom). When he opened it at home that night, he had to drive back to Jared & Kyla’s to show us what he had found. Apparently my mom had used the box to send Joe a care package for his birthday back in what we think must have been 2004! The birthday card and treats inside the box were never opened! Little Debbie cakes were hard as rocks and Hershey Kisses exploded while Hershey Miniatures disintegrated. From what we can figure, Uncle Joe must have thought he was getting a humidifier for his birthday and didn’t even bother to open the box. So funny & yet, not surprising 🙂
Weekend trip to SD
We traveled to SD this weekend to lay my Uncle Joe to rest. It was a sad reason to get together with family, but at the same time, good to be with family. The kids and I rode with my dad (my mom had gone down earlier in the week and Jake and Tony drove together after work.) All 3 kids did quite well in the car. The boys were entertained for a while by good ‘ol Cars. Thank you Pixar.
Once we arrived at my cousin’s house, we had dinner, changed and went to the prayer service for my uncle at the church. Jared & Kyla found a sitter to watch all 4 boys so we could attend the service undistracted. When Kyla and I arrived home, we found the boys here:
They remained up until about 11:30. WWWWWAAAAYYYY past bedtime, but they were having so much fun with each other, how could we put them to bed???